St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-10-27
THE POOR HOUSE MATTER.
A Few Words More About Needed Inn
prOvements.

$3.50
prOvements.
The Caledonian had not purpOsed
making further mention of affairs at
the poor house hoping that what had
already been said would bring about
some needed reforms in the direction
indicated. But an article that appear
ed in last weeks issue of our contem
porary makes further reference to the
matter necessary. Our contemporary
"rakes after" the Caledonian very
closely. This humble sheet has but to
speak a word of criticism concerning
any body or any thing when it rushes
to the defense of the body or thing
criticised after it has been coached
up. The last effort in this direction
was little belated but it came to time
finally with the statement that the OBJ
ject of the Caledonian's Onslaught"
on the management of the poor house
was to slur and disparage the memory
of the late Overseer, Moses Barrett.
AS a simple .,matter of fact the ar
ticle in question was written at the ur-
gent request of a number of good citi
zens and voters who had visited the
poor of the town in their rooms and
knew what they were talking about.
Mr.. Barrett is dead. 1t would do no
good and we certainly have no desire
to review his work or to "asperse" his
memory. Our desire is simply to see
acknowledged wrongs righted.
Again, our contemporary says "the
statement that the poor of the town
poor house have suffered from cold is
unqualifiedly false" Such statements
hardly admit of any other argument
than the familiar "yOu're another" but
it is unqualifiedly true that during the
last exceptionally severe winter two at
least of the aged women at the poor
house, of 80 or whereabouts, slept i'll
rooms that were not and could not be
heated, and this in large house not
easily warmed with the best of appli-
ances. 1t is also true that neither one
of the four aged women at the poor
house, nor any other of the inmates
for that matter, could reach the privy
of the institution without first being
obliged to go through an open shed Is
or 20 feet square and then through
wOodshed passage 30 feet long, at the
farther extremity of which is dark
apartment that would furnish a rather
striking contrast to some of the Gle
CANT bath rooms in st. JOhnsbury.
Now we do not know what the edi-
tor of our contemporary regards as
necessary to the comfort of aged peO-
pie who have the misfortune to be
poor, but we are charitable enough to
think that were his own mother or
some aged friend an inmate of the
poor house, he would not consider that
she was comfortably cared for if left to
not be heated during Il winter like the
last one, and also be frequently COM
PEELED to walk through long, semi-out-
door passages in bleak winter weather.
We have examined the premises and
one of the town officials expressed our
feelings exactly when he said, "TO be
sure things are not as we would like
them were your or my mother an in
mate of the poOrhOuse."
AS to where the responsibility rests
it was put where we thought and still
think it belongs, in part at least, but
we are perfectly willing to divide it up
between the Overseer of the poor and
the selectmcn. The law does not ex-
plicitly state who shall put in warming
apparatus or stand pipes in poor
houses. While the overseer has the
care of the poor the selectmen have
general supervision of the Overseer,
who carries on the town farm "under
the direction of the selectmen." The
Overseer's accounts are subject to the
inspection of the sclectmen and on the
death of Mr.. Barrett they had power
to and did appoint his successor. Mr..
Higgins informed us two weeks after
the article appeared that he considered
the responsibility was not with the Sc
lectmen in any degree. Overseer
Noyes, who was appointed to fill out an
unexpired term, does not feel warrant
ed in making extensive improvements,
and so there is some danger that what
is every body's business may turn out
to be nObody's business.
But we are not disposed to bubble
over words and have no desire to un-
justly criticise anybody. We have no
notion either of availing ourselves of
the privilege which the law and our
contemporary gives us of circulating a
petition for a town. meeting. There is
no need of it. A portion of the board
of selectmen and the Overseer admit
that things are not as they should be.
The expenditure of few hundred dol
lars would fix things right. Between
these officers there is authority enough
to do what needs doing without call
ing a special town meeting.
In conclusion, the CaledOnian has
called attention to two things that
should be done: The chambers at the
poOrhOuse should be warmed, and the
drainage and water closet should be
improved. Our criticisms have cover
ed no other points. In other respects
SO far as the writer knows, the towns
poor are we'll cared for, we'll fed and
kindly treated.
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